PersonPolitics

Baek In-yeop

Baek In-yeop (白仁燁, 18 February 1923 – 14 December 2013) was a South Korean soldier and educational administrator who served as a lieutenant general in the Republic of Korea Army on the reserve list. His family seat was Suwon (水原), and his art name (號) was Unbong (雲峰).

Born~Died Feb 18, 1923 ~ Dec 14, 20130 views in 30 daysLast edited Oct 15, 2026, 2:51 PM

한국어 · 백인엽

Details

Born ~ Died: Feb 18, 1923 ~ Dec 14, 2013
별명: hao Unbong (雲峰)
출생일: 18 February 1923
출생지: Korea under Japanese rule, South Pyongan Province, Gangseo County, Deungheung-ri, Gangseo-myeon
사망일: 14 December 2013 (aged 90)
사망지: Incheon, Republic of Korea
국적: South Korean
본관: Suwon (水原)
부모: Baek Yun-sang (father), Bang Hyo-yeol (mother)
배우자: Ju Gwang-suk (remarried), a Lady of the Suan Kim clan (deceased first wife)
자녀: Two sons and one daughter (including eldest daughter Baek Nam-ok)
친척: Baek Bok-yeop (elder sister), Baek Seon-yeop (elder brother), Baek Nak-sun (paternal grandfather), Bang Heung-ju (maternal grandfather), Ju Mun-suk (half-sister-in-law), Yu Gi-seok (half-brother-in-law), Baek Hui-yeop (elder female cousin), Baek Dong-yeop (younger male cousin)
종교: Protestantism
복무: Republic of Korea Army
복무기간: 1943–1960
근무: Republic of Korea Army Headquarters
최종계급: Lieutenant general
지휘: Director, Planning and Management Staff Bureau, Republic of Korea Army Headquarters
주요 참전: Korean War
기타 이력: Chairman of the board, Sunin Academy; visiting professor of Public administration, Inha University
웹사이트: 백인엽 將軍 - 001, 백인엽 將軍 - 002

Contents

1.Education
2.Military career
3.Sunin Academy corruption
4.Interpersonal relations
5.Family
6.Footnotes

Baek In-yeop (白仁燁, 18 February 1923 – 14 December 2013) was a South Korean soldier and educational administrator who served as a lieutenant general in the Republic of Korea Army on the reserve list. His family seat was Suwon (水原), and his art name (號) was Unbong (雲峰).

He was born in Gangseo, South Pyongan Province, moved to Jinnampo in South Pyongan Province, and in 1925 moved with his family to Pyongyang, where he grew up. During the Korean War, he was one of the principal commanders of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces. After the armistice, while serving as director of the Planning and Management Staff Bureau of the Republic of Korea Army Headquarters, he retired from the Republic of Korea Army in 1960 with the rank of lieutenant general, and he also served as chairman of the board of Sunin Academy. He was the younger brother of Baek Seon-yeop (白善燁), who served as Chief of Staff of the Republic of Korea Army and concurrently as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Education

South Pyongan Province Pyongyang Yaksong Elementary School
South Pyongan Province Pyongyang Soongsil Higher Common School
Bachelor's degree in economics, Meiji University, Japan (1943)
Graduated from the Tokyo Army Aviation School (1945)
1st class, Korean Military English School (1946)
Graduated from the Infantry School of the Korean Ministry of Military Affairs (1947)
Graduated from the United States Army Infantry School (1949)
Graduated from the United States Army Field Artillery School (1950)
Graduated from the Republic of Korea Army Infantry School (1951)
Graduated from the United States Army Command and General Staff College (1953)
Bachelor of Public Administration, 1st class, Korea National Defense University (1956)

Military career

March 1943: Ensign, Japanese Army Air Service
January 1946: Commissioned as warrant officer (second lieutenant) in the Korean National Defense Constabulary
February 1948: Deputy regimental commander, 1st Infantry Regiment, Army
November 1948: Regimental commander, 17th Infantry Regiment, Army
August 1950: Division commander, Capital Infantry Division, Army
October 1950: Promoted to brigadier general; Director, Intelligence Bureau, Army Headquarters
January 1951: Commandant, 1st Training Center, Army
January 1952: Division commander, 6th Infantry Division, Army
November 1952: Promoted to major general, Army
June 1954: Division commander, 9th Infantry Division, Army
May 1955: Commandant, 2nd Training Center, Army
September 1955: Promoted to lieutenant general while commandant of the 2nd Training Center (early September 1955)
September 1955: Transferred from commandant of the 2nd Training Center to deputy chief of staff, Ministry of National Defense (late September 1955)
December 1955: Head of the Planning Staff Department, Army Headquarters
April 1956: Corps commander, 1st Corps, Army
September 1956: Corps commander, 6th Corps, Army
February 1959: Head of the Management Staff Department, Army Headquarters
August 1959: Director, Planning and Management Staff Bureau, Army Headquarters
June 1960: Retired from service

Sunin Academy corruption

The abuses of Baek In-yeop, the founder of Sunin Academy, were beyond imagination. He illegally infringed on the property of local residents, and in particular, during the expansion of the campus site, he had a Chinese communal cemetery bulldozed, which escalated into a diplomatic issue. Baek fired teachers at will whenever they displeased him, and made teachers wear reserve military uniforms to stand guard and patrol. He also accepted bribes for illicit admissions and transfers, and even sold diplomas. The newspapers described Baek's activities as "Incheon's outlaw" (인천의 무법자).

When the illicit practices were uncovered, Chairman Baek was detained after the board considered donating Sunin Academy to the state, but even after his release he continued to act as the owner and engaged in behind-the-scenes manipulation. As a result, the "Pan-Sunin Academy Normalization Promotion Committee" was formed in the 1990s and waged a struggle to normalize the academy, which expanded into a civic movement in Incheon.

In June 1993, Baek delivered to then Incheon Metropolitan Mayor Choe Gi-seon a deed of donation stating, "On the condition that Sunin Academy (the school corporation of Incheon National University) be made public, I donate all rights as founder to the Mayor of Incheon." As a result, Sunin Academy, together with thirteen institutions it operated, including kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools, and a junior college, was converted into a municipal institution. After many twists and turns, the municipalization was completed in 1994. Since municipalization, Incheon National University and the other schools have developed normally, and some schools have changed their names or relocated. In particular, in 2013 Incheon National University was reorganized as a national university corporation under the name National Incheon University.

Lee Gap-yong, who had worked as a teaching assistant at Incheon National University at that time and is now its vice president, recalled, "In the early days of the founding, protests began on the first day of each semester, so classes were always held during summer vacation," adding, "It was a representative problem school."

In fact, in January 1981, two years after Baek had founded Incheon University, an inspection by the then Ministry of Education uncovered that over two years he had illegally admitted and transferred as many as 9,900 students into the schools under Sunin Academy (16 at that time) and embezzled more than 750 million won in public funds. He was sentenced by the court to three years in prison.

Interpersonal relations

Because his elder brother Baek Seon-yeop rose rapidly as a general-rank officer in the Republic of Korea Army, Baek In-yeop was also promoted to general-rank officer. However, he surprisingly had a mutually hostile relationship with Park Chung-hee. Because of this, while Baek In-yeop was serving as commander of the 6th Corps as a lieutenant general, Brigadier General Park Chung-hee served as deputy corps commander of the 6th Corps, but due to severe discord between the two, Park was removed from his post as deputy corps commander, placed on standby, and later reassigned as commander of the 7th Infantry Division.

Family

Father: Baek Yun-sang (白潤相, 1890 – 1926)
Mother: Bang Hyo-yeol (方孝熱, 1893 – 1977)
Maternal grandfather: Bang Heung-ju (方興周, 185X – 19XX); died at age 53 in Hamjong (咸從), South Pyongan Province; held the rank of Gabuidaebu (嘉義大夫)¹ and was a Major (參領)² of the Imperial Korean Army of the Korean Empire
- Elder sister: Baek Bok-yeop (白福燁, 1917 – 1990)
- Elder brother: Baek Seon-yeop (白善燁, 1920 – 2020)
Spouse: Ju Gwang-suk (1941 – )
- Children: two sons and one daughter
Elder female cousin: Baek Hui-yeop (白熙燁, 1916 – 1995), businesswoman and moneylender

Footnotes

See Official Gazette No. 1406, 31 October 1899, and Official Gazette No. 1411, 6 November 1899 ↩
See Seungjeongwon Ilgi (Royal Secretariat Diary), 26 July 1907 ↩

Education

South Pyongan Province Pyongyang Yaksong Elementary School
South Pyongan Province Pyongyang Soongsil Higher Common School
Bachelor's degree in economics, Meiji University, Japan (1943)
Graduated from the Tokyo Army Aviation School (1945)
1st class, Korean Military English School (1946)
Graduated from the Infantry School of the Korean Ministry of Military Affairs (1947)
Graduated from the (1949)

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See Official Gazette No. 1406, 31 October 1899, and Official Gazette No. 1411, 6 November 1899 ↩
See Seungjeongwon Ilgi (Royal Secretariat Diary), 26 July 1907 ↩

See Official Gazette No. 1406, 31 October 1899, and Official Gazette No. 1411, 6 November 1899 ↩
See Seungjeongwon Ilgi (Royal Secretariat Diary), 26 July 1907 ↩

Baek In-yeop

Education

Military career

Sunin Academy corruption

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Footnotes

Education

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Military career

Sunin Academy corruption

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